Li Lin was extremely unsettled.
Where had his brother gone? If he hadn’t attended the training, what had he been doing these past months? They had video-chatted not long ago, even talked on the phone last week—nothing seemed wrong.
Why would his brother lie to him?
And it seemed like Dad knew something… something he didn’t.
Li Lin returned to the hotel, anxious to find Shen Yuan but completely at a loss, not knowing where to start. A gnawing sense of foreboding gripped him.
Dad said he’d call soon. Li Lin both hoped to hear news of his brother and feared it might be bad news he didn’t want to hear, leaving him restless.
Finally, Dad’s call came. He answered nervously. Dad said, “…I’m with your brother now. I asked him, so you can come see him. The location is XX General Hospital. Take a taxi there, and call me when you arrive—I’ll meet you at the entrance.”
Li Lin froze, realization dawning, but panic surged. “In a hospital? Is my brother sick? Has he been treating an illness abroad these past months? Is it serious?”
Li Chen glanced at Shen Yuan, unsure how to explain. “Your brother’s fine, no need to worry… you’ll see for yourself when you arrive.”
Li Lin hurried downstairs, hailed a taxi, and urged the driver to go faster, all the while imagining endless possibilities. He felt slightly relieved that Shen Yuan hadn’t gone to the training. He even checked online and realized the training was organized by Hailou’s company—could it be related? But even if it were, why would his brother disappear for seven or eight months?
Maybe… his brother had been seriously ill and went abroad for treatment?
This theory offered little comfort; he didn’t want Shen Yuan sick, nor did he want him secretly reconciling with Hailou.
After racing through the streets, he finally arrived at the hospital. He waited in the lobby for five minutes before Dad came down to meet him.
Li Lin stood, about to ask a question, but Dad’s hesitant expression made him pause. Dad patted his shoulder. “Come with me.”
They took the elevator. Li Lin looked at the electronic floor numbers jumping upward, his heart pounding. Mustering courage, he asked, “Dad, is my brother sick?”
Dad shook his head, hesitated, then said, “You’ll know soon enough.”
At the ward door, Li Lin saw his brother in a hospital gown, sitting on the bed as if waiting for him. Everything seemed to settle.
Shen Yuan met his gaze, sighed, and smiled awkwardly. “Li Lin… long time no see. I’m sorry I lied to you.”
But Shen Yuan looked nothing like Li Lin had imagined a sick brother to look—he wasn’t pale or frail. Instead, he seemed a little fuller, his face round and healthy, rosy and vibrant. Yet he was indeed in a hospital gown on a bed… so what kind of illness had he had?
Then Li Lin noticed others in the room: Hailou sitting at Shen Yuan’s bedside, Aunt Lin as well. Everyone—Shen Yuan, Hailou, Li Chen, Aunt Lin—was looking at him with a mix of patience and exasperation, making him feel awkward and almost resentful.
He realized it: everyone knew about Shen Yuan’s situation… except him.
Li Lin slumped like a small, defeated puppy, trembling. “W-what did you lie to me about?”
Shen Yuan felt a pang of guilt seeing him like this. Everyone had kept secrets from him… could he bear it? He wanted to explain, but couldn’t find the words at first.
Hailou, less patient than Shen Yuan, had long noticed the boy’s attachment to his brother, hidden behind a façade of brotherly affection. He didn’t care to indulge the child’s feelings, especially since Li Lin was facing the college entrance exam—everyone had held back for his sake. Now, finally, Hailou could assert himself.
A hint of triumph crossed Hailou’s lips as he glanced at Li Lin. Holding Shen Yuan’s hand, their fingers intertwined naturally.
Li Lin, provoked by Hailou’s subtle smirk, saw their hands together and felt blood rush to his head, trembling with anger. “You’ve already reconciled with him, haven’t you? Is that the lie?”
Shen Yuan nodded. “Not just reconciled… we’re married.”
He finally said the words out loud: “We got married in January, already registered.”
“Because you were about to take your exams, we didn’t want to distract you, so we kept it from you.”
Li Lin’s eyes immediately welled up. He finally noticed the wedding ring on Shen Yuan’s hand. He had thought Shen Yuan and Hailou were over—but now his brother was married to this shameless older man! He glanced at the others in the room; Dad and Aunt Lin instinctively avoided his gaze.
He understood.
Without Dad’s knowledge or consent, his brother couldn’t have secretly married. Dad knew—they all knew—except him.
Li Lin couldn’t even cry.
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and with red-rimmed eyes asked, “You said you hid it because of my exams, but my exams ended four months ago. Why tell me now? Because I came looking? Was it impossible to keep hiding? Did you really think I’m so unreasonable that you have to lie to me? Even if you’d told me before the exams, I wouldn’t have blamed you if I failed.”
Shen Yuan sighed. “It’s not like that. I was going to tell you these past few days. We continued keeping it from you after your exams for another reason…”
He hesitated, embarrassed to continue.
Li Lin pressed, demanding, “Then say it! There’s nothing left to hide!”
Shen Yuan looked at Hailou, then back at him, holding Hailou’s hand tighter. He resolved, “I… I…”
At that moment, a nurse appeared at the door. “Peanut’s parents, please come with me.”
Shen Yuan froze.
Hailou stood. “I’ll go with him.”
Shen Yuan nodded. “Okay, go ahead.”
Li Lin looked confused. What did this mean? “Peanut”? A child? Where did a child come from? What’s his relation to my brother?
Shen Yuan awkwardly but politely explained his health issues again.
Li Lin was utterly dumbfounded. Though he couldn’t fully comprehend, one thing was clear: Shen Yuan and Hailou had a child.
Not only were they married, but they already had a baby.
Li Lin felt a sudden weight on his chest, as if a path had been completely blocked, making it hard to breathe.
How could this happen? Why?
Feeling wronged, he confronted Shen Yuan. “I’ve known you for seven years, and that man just one year. Is he more important than me? Why are you with him? You even said he wasn’t a good person and that you were just playing! Lies. And now you’re married to him?”
Shen Yuan knew Li Lin would react this way. To him, it was like a child who couldn’t accept a single parent remarrying—petty and unreasonable. He felt no guilt for marrying Hailou.
He simply said, “Because I want to marry him.”
Li Lin paused, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Li Chen stepped in, angered. “Do you not understand? Whether your brother marries or not isn’t your business! Must he postpone his life for your tantrums? Shouting and making a scene is disrespectful! He just had surgery—he needs rest!”
Li Lin was too furious to care about etiquette or appearances.
Earlier, he had felt smug that his restrictions before the exams might delay Shen Yuan’s life, but now he realized it had backfired. If he hadn’t interfered, no one would have had to hide things from him, and maybe he could have prevented the marriage.
Still sobbing, he took out the birthday gift he had been saving for Shen Yuan. His hands shook so badly he fumbled with the zipper for several attempts before finally revealing it.
It was a jewel-embedded egg.
Li Lin glared at Shen Yuan, stubbornly saying, “Brother, you once said something beautiful. I saved money for a year—pocket money, earnings from streaming—I bought this for your 20th birthday.”
“Do you really have to be with that man? What’s so good about him? He’s older, slick, unscrupulous, with a messy personal life. Why did you lose your head and choose him? Was it because of the child? Did that force you to reconcile and marry him?”
Had he not been his younger brother, Shen Yuan might have scolded him, but even for him, he couldn’t tolerate such accusations. “No, it’s because… I love him. I want to be with him.”
Li Lin didn’t blink, raising the jewel egg to strike it.
Jealousy erupted, and he blurted, “You’re so desperate for a man? Why not me? I’m better than that old man!”
“Smack.”
Before his words fell, a hand turned his face aside.
His father’s face darkened as he delivered a sharp slap.